


scars (from up above & down below)

by sunshineriptiee



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Violence, Scars, a bit of, discussion of scars, post hadestown, than I thought, they make it out of hadestown au, turned out less sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26684992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineriptiee/pseuds/sunshineriptiee
Summary: eurydice reflects on scars, before and after hadestown.
Relationships: Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown)
Kudos: 24





	scars (from up above & down below)

**Author's Note:**

> heeey! I've never written for hadestown, but I've had this in the back of my mind for quite some time and needed to get it out. there should be more hadestown fanfic, and especially more orpheus/eurydice. this is in the orpheus-dosent-turn-au!

Eurydice never cared much for scars.  
2020ATS2020ATS  
Okay, maybe that was an understatment. She didn’t like them, at all. In her mind, they were simply reminders of bad memories and brought up uncomfortable questions she didn’t want to answer. She didn’t have a lot, but enough for people to start to wonder. Usually, she wouldn’t let anyone close enough for them to ask. 

But Orpheus. Her kind and lovable Orpheus, he did ask. One breezy summer eve, they sat and enjoyed the August wind. Then, from behind she felt Orpheus hand on her shoulder

“What’s this from?” He asked as he traced an old scar on her shoulder. She jerked away from his touch, overwhelmed with the sudden memories brought back. Images of a dark alley flashed before her eyes. It was a cold winter, there was barley any food left. She had stolen, and they were mad. She didn’t have a choice! They were mad, they wouldn’t listen to anything she pleaded with. She ran, they came after. The dark alley spun around her. She looked for a way out but there wasn’t one. She didn’t know what to do. She grabbed the nearest object and swung and-

“Eurydice?” She snapped her eyes open. Orpheus soft voice from behind her woke her from her thoughts and she looked back. He sat still, waiting for her to do something. He must have pulled his hand back, because he still sat with it hovering, not knowing if he should back off completely or offer comfort. “Are you alright?” He asked carefully, as to not startle her. Eurydice took a few deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She didn’t feel like having a major breakdown infront of Orpheus just a few months into the relationship. 

“Yeah. Yeah I’m fine. I’m fine.” She said, nodding. She didn’t know wether she was telling this to Orpheus or herself.

“Are you sure?” Orpheus asked, coming a bit closer this time. Carefully, he was probably afraid of making her freak out again. “Cause it’s okay if you’re not fine. I’m sorry for whatever I did.” He said earnestly and it was so hard to lie when he was so sweet and genuinely concerned.

“Orpheus you don’t need to apologize, it’s not your fault that you didn’t know how...” Eurydice trailed off. That was exactly what she didn’t want to say.

“Know what?” Orpheus asked but she just shook her head. “Okay. I won’t press, if you wanna move on we can. But if you wanna talk about it, just tell me. I’ll be more careful in the future.” He assured her and she couldn’t do anything but smile. He was, quite literally, the sweetest person she’d ever met.

Neither of them said anything more for awhile, but Eurydice did crawl back right into Orpheus arms and there they sat contently in the warm summer breeze. 

So no, Eurydice never cared for scars. Uncomfortable questions and bad memories. 

\--------------

Things were different after Hadestown. They were different. 

She would never thank that awful place, but their relationship did grow for the better. She knew Orpheus would never turn his back on her again and get too caught up in something to take care of her. He knew Eurydice wouldn’t leave him again if things ever got tough, she knew the other alternatives too well already. They talked more. Starting a revolution and walking out of almost hell together really made Eurydice realize she wanted Orpheus to know all there was to know about her, no matter how hard it was to speak of it. 

It took a while to talk about her scars. 

It was early one morning as spring was turning into summer. Eurydice was going to miss their first spring in a long time, but was excited for summer to come. 

Orpheus was asleep. The situation was unusal, because Eurydice always used to be the one sleeping the longest. Orpheus had never slept much, not before Hadestown and especially not after. He was always working on something, he was always up and about and he valued his rest much less than Eurydice. For her, every night she got to sleep safe and sound in their bed she counted it as a blessing. She wasn’t not gonna take advantage of it. 

So this situation was highly unusal. The day before had been long and exhausting for Orpheus, and when Eurydice awoke she was surprised to turn and be met by the sleeping face of her lover. She sat up and took in the sight of her sleeping Orpheus and wished to stay like this for a long long time.

They were both free today, so she wasn’t in a hurry to wake him up. She stroke a piece of hair out of his face, and let her hand trail down over his shoulder and chest. She frowned as her eyes followed her hand and looked at the scars that now covered Orpheus. Before Hadestown his most dramatic scars was from scratched up knees. 

But walking down to and up from Hadestown, and getting himself serious beating in between earned him a bit more than just a few scratches. She traced her fingers over his scarred sides until she noticed him stirring. She started to pull away her hand but instinctively Orpheus reached out and grabbed it.

“Good morning.” He mumbled into his pillow and her frown eased up and she felt herself smile again.

“Good morning.” She answered as Orpheus tugged her closer to him. She happily laid down next to him as he opened his eyes. 

“You’re awake before me.” He noted and Eurydice nodded. “What were you doing?” 

“Admiring.” She answered, only half joking. Orpheus face turned red, he was never one to take compliments easily. She let her hand once again trace his scars, now that he was awake and aware of what she was doing. She saw how his face fell slightly as he noticed what she was tracing.  
“Does this make you uncomfortable?” She asked, ready to pull back her hand once more if he requested. But he just shook his head. 

“I don’t mind. I’m just happy we’re fine now.” He explained, letting his eyes fall shut once again. Eurydice thought about his words and she looked, not only down at her lover, but herself as well. She made her decision. 

“Orpheus, can I tell you something?”

Eurydice never used to care much for scars. But now, even with the bad memories that they came with, she saw them as marks of what was passed. They had been hurt, but they made it out. She made it out. She’d still tense up thinking of the memories, but ease up as she’d remember she was past that now. She was safe. Orpheus was safe. They had survived.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! if you did, please leave kudos or a comment! I will love whatever you have to say!
> 
> I love hadestown and I'd like to write some more, so let me know If you'd be interested in any more! I love orpheus&eurydice and I am thinking of more orpheus angst so maybe ! I'm currently home and sick so who knows how much time I have to kill!


End file.
